[ezduzit2500]

If break in is required, why don't companies do it before selling them? They can do bulk burn-ins. Also do second or third owners not feel that the devices are already burned-in and hence already sweet sounding?

2nd and 3rd owners don't really have to worry wbout that. It's the 1st owners' with brand new HFM cans that should see/hear the most benefit after they've taken them out of the box for the first listen......

 

[ezduzit2500]

If an amp is fully class A there better be no notch distortion.

I agree in general, it's the harmonics and small signal purity that always gets my attention first. I have heard some class a amps that lack bass - the Pass Aleph series is one. The earlier Pass amps with Threshold and the X Series are hammers. The First Watt stuff is variable by reputation but I only know two of those. Then of course there is the first KSA series of Krell amps too. And lots of tubes and tube hybrids are class a too.

True. OTOH, many advertised Class A amps are only that up to a certain power output - then they go into Class AB as their power requirements increase. True Class A is very expensive and heavy - and hot - unless a fan or extensive heat-sinking/casework is used - like the Pass Labs HPA-1 (ie: supra uber casework).....

 

[ezduzit2500]

Excuse me. What is BS? The commentary by Winey as early as the late 60's or to me in the early 80's regarding break in of Mylar drivers. Or Gayle Sanders? Or my measured results with sub-woofers?

Or is it that break-in at factory isn't an issue that costs time/money.

Are you talking about planars, because that's the topic - not ribbons, dynamics, estats.

Why not specify your equipment and methods of testing?

Or is it the frustrated voice of someone that strayed in here from Sound Science?

Hahaha!!!

 

[ezduzit2500]

Not to dissuade, and definitely not on a mission , just get to the real reason of the phenomena that I have experienced myself.
As the difference cannot be measured in any meaningful way, but so apparent after some use of the headphones, what is it?
When one of the biggest and oldest HP manufacturers publicly admits it in their FAQ that it's just "habituation effect", what else can it be attributed to?
When we hear drastic shift in frequency response, with treble taming down and bass getting tighter, soundstage widening, etc. wouldn't that show up in a measurements. But it doesn't, why, is it because the measurement device lacks emotions and consistent in its reading, or there are some additional forces in place not known to a modern science?

Those phenomena won't show up on a simple FR graph. They may not even show up in a waterfall plot - though they're more aligned to the time domain.....

 

[ezduzit2500]

I think the truly misleading and widespread belief is that with burn in all headphones will end up sounding better. I just don't understand how such a conclusion can be drawn. If we assume that burn in is real and the performance of headphones change from new, we should also consider the possibiliy that such change may leave someone disappointed.

I am not a strong believer of burn in but I have witnessed at least one headphone sounding worse with time. I am more inclined to believe it was me, not the headphone, but yes, that headphone that impressed me so much in store that I had to buy it right away, ended up being sold 3 months after as it became a mostly unpleasant listen.

Only one of my dynamic HPs ever had any changes due to burn in. Planars, OTOH - extensive changes in over 6 pairs of HFM planars - no changes in a Fostex model......

 

[ezduzit2500]

For Arya V2, I can't recommend a better combo than A90D + Ares II. A90D is neutral sounding amp, but the Ares II will add some warmth, body, and life into the music.

Still one of the best systems I have heard and built to date. Brings a smile to my face with each listen.

I believe @PoSR77 has the Cayin iHA-6 IIRC.

That's truly what counts. Be happy......

 

[ezduzit2500]

Jeez, OK. I didn't say Oor was warm, I said that was what I was looking for. I have not heard the Oor, but I have seen many references that it has a slight tilt away from neutral towards the warmer side. I could rephrase my desires to be "looking for something not cool, clinical or analytical". Sometimes it is better to say what you don't want rather than what you do want (?)

Side note - Violectric V222 has now dropped in the US. Might this be a better candidate for a non-cool/non-clinical amp for use with the Arya V2? 2.2 watts enough to wake up the lower sensitivity V2?

IDK bout that - 2.2W is pushing it with the V2, IMO. Of course, this is coming from someone who hooked his V2's up to a direct-drive enabled Emotiva A-100 for craps and giggles. ~12W @ 32 ohms surely woke the V2's up (of course not all of that was used b/c preamp, LOL). No more was the Arya V2 "soft" or "lacks dynamics" after doing that, LOL. Bass depth and PUNCH for days, I tell ya' - that memory still brings a smile to my face, LOL.......

 

[AdamK89]

Anyone here have any experience with the Arya Stealth paired with the Burson Conductor 3XP? Trying to upgrade from a Magni/Modi stack

 

[Vijay74]

I went through the same path as you. I also tried the RCA connections as well and although it seemed to sound better, I couldn't tell for sure whether the perceived postive change was real or due to a placebo effect. In the end, I wanted to use balanced connections (also not a fan of NFCA) so I decided to get a different amp altogether. Goodluck on your aural journey

Thanks! I purchased Singxer SA1, paired it with Ares 2 and voila! Ares 2 changed! Voice clarity is there, bass punch is there. It sounds great! Comparing Ares2+SA1 with Qutest + A90 or SA1, the distinction has been really difficult to find. In fact at times it seems Ares2+SA1 is better than Qutest (A90 or SA1)! Now the difference seems to be going into psychoacoustics domain.
Amazing how important the pairing, the synergy is... in subjective Music domain!

 

[Vijay74]

I've been giving this some thought. I know the word "endgame" gets thrown around a lot. But no other headphone/setup has given me as much musical pleasure than this right here:

Audirvana -> Ares II -> A90D -> Arya V2

This could very well be a system that I keep with me for a lifetime. There's little to nothing that I would change from the FR and sound that I get out of it. No harshness, sibilance whatsoever. Imaging, texture, and layering is just immaculate. Synergy is just spot on. Just an immersive and analog experience. Like having a whole vinyl catalog right at my fingertips.

I have yet to build a system around the HE1000 V2 that sounds as good as this.

I found HDTracks flacs to be better sounding than those from Spotify. However using EQ, I could make them about 80-90% match. Then I installed Audirvana to test those flacs and difference was quite noticeable! Now Spotify sounded comparatively flatter! I must confess Audirvana makes flacs livelier and can understand more "emotional attachment" with music. All very subjective terms but now agreeable subjectively
Audirvana -> Ares II -> Singxer SA1 -> Arya : indeed sound really much better now.

I am using WASAPI on Audirvana and yet to try out ASIO or Kernel streaming options. Which ones are you using?
Also if by any chance you get to test your setup with Singxer SA1 or Burson Amps (or Burson DAC Amps), or any other good Amp, please do share.

Thanks!

 

[SemiAudiophile]

I found HDTracks flacs to be better sounding than those from Spotify. However using EQ, I could make them about 80-90% match. Then I installed Audirvana to test those flacs and difference was quite noticeable! Now Spotify sounded comparatively flatter! I must confess Audirvana makes flacs livelier and can understand more "emotional attachment" with music. All very subjective terms but now agreeable subjectively
Audirvana -> Ares II -> Singxer SA1 -> Arya : indeed sound really much better now.

I am using WASAPI on Audirvana and yet to try out ASIO or Kernel streaming options. Which ones are you using?
Also if by any chance you get to test your setup with Singxer SA1 or Burson Amps (or Burson DAC Amps), or any other good Amp, please do share.

Thanks!

I'm following the settings per Denafrips website using AISO.

https://www.denafrips.com/win-os

You can set upsampling to no limit, but I have mine capped at 32bit/384kHz. I don't know if it's the AISO plugin, the upsampling, or Audirvana doing some magic. But it somehow adds some "soul" into the music.

I never understood how people complain about the amp, especially the A90 bring lean, analytical, and lifeless. It's basically amplifying the signal you're feeding it. It's one of the most neutral reference amps I've heard.

For some reason I did not find the Burson 3XP to be a great match with Arya V2. It did have much better depth but the whole sound and image seemed off to me. I much prefer the A90D synergistically. The Soloist is a much better match with HEKV2 imo.

 

[ezduzit2500]

Thanks! I purchased Singxer SA1, paired it with Ares 2 and voila! Ares 2 changed! Voice clarity is there, bass punch is there. It sounds great! Comparing Ares2+SA1 with Qutest + A90 or SA1, the distinction has been really difficult to find. In fact at times it seems Ares2+SA1 is better than Qutest (A90 or SA1)! Now the difference seems to be going into psychoacoustics domain.
Amazing how important the pairing, the synergy is... in subjective Music domain!

Synergy......bingo!!!

 

[ezduzit2500]

I found HDTracks flacs to be better sounding than those from Spotify. However using EQ, I could make them about 80-90% match. Then I installed Audirvana to test those flacs and difference was quite noticeable! Now Spotify sounded comparatively flatter! I must confess Audirvana makes flacs livelier and can understand more "emotional attachment" with music. All very subjective terms but now agreeable subjectively
Audirvana -> Ares II -> Singxer SA1 -> Arya : indeed sound really much better now.

I am using WASAPI on Audirvana and yet to try out ASIO or Kernel streaming options. Which ones are you using?
Also if by any chance you get to test your setup with Singxer SA1 or Burson Amps (or Burson DAC Amps), or any other good Amp, please do share.

Thanks!

I juuust started using Audirvana to stream Tidal Masters. The SQ with Audirvana handily beats the SQ of just the Tidal desktop app into my MQA decoder DAC and also beats Foobar as the media player. The Tidal Masters and Audirvana pairing rivals Quboz and Roon in SQ, IMO, and is a cheaper option than Roon (but isn't nearly as convenient nor as comprehensive as Roon). I'm having fun trying out the different media players before I finally settle on one to rule them all, LOL.....

 

[ezduzit2500]

I'm following the settings per Denafrips website using AISO.

https://www.denafrips.com/win-os

You can set upsampling to no limit, but I have mine capped at 32bit/384kHz. I don't know if it's the AISO plugin, the upsampling, or Audirvana doing some magic. But it somehow adds some "soul" into the music.

I never understood how people complain about the amp, especially the A90 bring lean, analytical, and lifeless. It's basically amplifying the signal you're feeding it. It's one of the most neutral reference amps I've heard.

For some reason I did not find the Burson 3XP to be a great match with Arya V2. It did have much better depth but the whole sound and image seemed off to me. I much prefer the A90D synergistically. The Soloist is a much better match with HEKV2 imo.

I once had the OG A90 paired with the Arya V2 - and I didn't like that pairing at all. It wasn't nearly as natural sounding as my cheaper discrete Class AB amps I had on hand - the Emotiva A-100 and Schiit Magni 3+ - and I sent it back pretty quickly. Then I got a used Gustard H20 Class A discrete amp that crushed all of them in timbre and tonality. For me, there's something about discrete amps that just sound "right" vs any of the IC based amps I've tried - ie: the OG A90, Monolith '887, and Schiit Magnius.......

 

[Rogue Architect]

Yeah that seems to be the running advice. Class A with Planars. I’m looking to grab a Singxer SA-1 or Burson Solosit